If you're like us, you're trying to shave a bit off the cost of holiday shopping but still come up with nifty and meaningful gifts. Good news! A bit of creativity now goes a long way - especially if you and your family and friends love travel. Why I am writing about it now? Some of the most unique and inexpensive gifts require a bit of time and effort - so read on and get started!

Wine: A few years ago we started making batches of wine (no smashing-of-grapes-with-feet required in today's process) and using our own photos to make custom labels - one of my favorites is a Johannesburg-style Riesling with a portrait of a King Cheetah we encountered in South Africa. We put "Bottled by Bud and Chase Binder, Bow, NH" on the bottom of the label - great gifts for about $15/bottle. Concord has its own Vintners Cellar (vcwinenh.com, 224-9463), and they even have a graphic artist on staff to design your label. You shoot them a digital image; they develop design options for your approval for just $5 (then $1/bottle to affix your labels).

Haven't been to Europe lately . . . how about Monadnock Merlot or Penacook Pinot Noir? Indeed, what a great hostess gift if you're traveling over the holidays? This very weekend, Vintners Cellar is having a 1-year anniversary celebration with specials, raffles, discounts. Don't be surprised if you see me and Bud there!

Books: You can be a travel writer! Just visit blurb.com and download their free software. They have templates and different styles and you can use as much or as little text as you like (maybe you hate writing?) - you can even vary the font, point size, type color. You can produce a book beginning at $15 (7" x 7", soft cover 20 pages) to $60 (12" x 12", soft cover 20 pages). Adding photos is just "drop and drag" and the program is friendly enough that it tells you when the resolution of your photo is too low. Trust me . . . you can do this! Just start with a subject. A day at the beach with the kids, a wedding in the Caribbean, an anniversary trip to Hawaii, a baby-boomer trip to Europe, apple-picking with the kids in Hopkinton. Is your trip from last year? Who cares? Think your kids won't go totally nuts over a professional-looking book featuring them? Think your spouse or travel companions won't be ga-ga over your efforts? Your only problem is time . . . get crackin'!

Maps: I love maps, and for anyone who has traveled, who is planning a trip or who even dreams about travel, a wonderful gift is a personalized map from stonearchmerchants.com. The world map ($169) comes with a brass plaque that says "The World Travels of Bud and Chase Binder" (or the like), and colored pins to indicate where you've been, where you're going, your dream (and favorite) spots. Our grandkids head straight for the one hanging in our family room. They count the pins, ask a few questions and learn some geography. Versions for Europe, France, Italy, the UK, the USA are now available. Great baby-boomer gifts!

(E-mail Chase Binder at ChaseBinder@comcast.net.)